Event Type:
Permanent Exhibition

Comments (14)

Hi there,
I just watched the video "Reconstructing Palorchestes" with artist Peter Trusler. I am interested in the appearance of an extinct animal and the steps taken to figure it out. I really enjoyed the the way Peter reconstructs the animals through his drawings and I was wondering if there were any other sites where artists demonstrate how they got to reconstructing an extinct animal? I was most interested in the layers or his drawings, from the skeleton to the muscle then to the skin of animal. Are there any more drawings on the website?
Thanks,
Theresa

Hi Theresa; yes, Peter Trusler's work is amazing - a few other examples are on display in the '600 Million Years' exhibition at Melbourne Museum, including his reconstruction of the mesozoic marine reptile Platypterygius in the video here. The exhibition also has some of Peter's skeletal reconstructions of Victoria's dinosaurs, and the animatronic dinosaurs in the exhibition are closely based on Peter's artworks. Additionally, you may be interested in the book "The Artist and the Scientists" which goes into further detail on Peter's approach in his years of collaboration with Palaeontologists Tom Rich and Pat Vickers-Rich.

I saw this today, and what an exceptional exhibition it is - beautiful to the eyes, and informative and provocative for the mind. A celebration of Victoria's Natural History through time - that is exactly what Melbourne Museum should be about!

Why do you have an exhibit which teaches children's dn adults alike that the ear is 600 million years old yet there is not one piece of scientific proof to back this up?
I am sad to say I will never be able to take my children to the museum because they will leave with no education but lies!

Hi Chantel, thank you for the feedback, but I think you may have misinterpreted the exhibition - there is nothing in the exhibition that states that the ear is 600 million years old.

Cameron Bonde
5 May, 2013 22:49

Even if you don't believe something, it's still important to learn about it, if it's a popular viewpoint. First you must accept you could be wrong. I could be wrong and I'll change as soon as evidence is provided. If you admit you CAN'T be wrong, then you should think about that, because that attitude can be easily taken advantage of. For your children's sake they need to know everything, regardless of what you believe.

Emma D
9 March, 2013 22:06

I was the squeeling lady with the one year old, today LOL. this exhibition is awesome! I really loved it. I was amazed at all the new information presented. I learned stuff.
very well put together very clear and very interesting.

Why are you people dogmatically teaching people the history of Evolution in Victoria for 600 million years? Were you there at the time to know the earth is that old? Can you categorically prove evolution is true? There is ample evidence out there to show that Dinosaur fossils for instance have recently been discovered with Soft tissue on them. So how on earth can it be millions of years old. Once again, you are entitled to have a theory, but it is a far cry from a scientific fact.... Stop dogmatically attempting to indoctrinate children and people into a biased way of viewing the earths history

Andrew, you've obviously got a very narrow grasp of the concepts you are talking about. Gravity is 'just a theory' too. Do you question the existence gravity? Can you observe a gravitational field? Are kids being indoctrinated on the evils of gravitational theory? There's no such thing as a fact in science; that's not how it works.

Jasper
5 February, 2015 23:58

Andrew - To paraphrase your own statement: you're entitled to your opionion, but without evidence you flatter it by calling it a theory. Theories are explanations supported by scientific evidence from a range of sources. No dogma or belief involved, or needed; the evidence says it all.
Also, the presence of preserved soft tissue in dinosaur remains isn't close to being an argument that undermines the estimated age of the fossil. I am going to assume that you're aware that soft tissue in this context simply means tissue other than bone....you realise it doesn't mean it's soft to the touch, surely? It's not exactly fresh dino meat hanging off the bone, you know..